One man is dead and Ontario's special investigations unit (SIU) has been called in after a police-involved shooting north of Latchford.
The SIU is investigating the death of a man who was killed last night (March 7) in the Timiskaming District, the SIU confirmed on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
The initial information released by the SIU is that two men fled a traffic stop and there was an exchange of gunfire in the area of Highway 11 and Portage Bay Road, which is north of Latchford. One man is dead and one man was arrested by OPP.
The SIU is an arms-length agency that investigates police-involved incidents where there has been a death, serious injury, allegations of sexual assault, or the discharge of a firearm at a person.
Known as the best little town by a dam site, Latchford's population is just over 300 people. It's situated on the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 11) between New Liskeard and North Bay.
The police incident started yesterday in Kirkland Lake, about an hour north of the community, and led to a shelter-in-place order and lengthy, ongoing closure of Highway 11.
Around 5 p.m., Kirkland Lake OPP tried to stop a vehicle near Government Road West and Woods Street in Kirkland Lake, said police in a news release.
The vehicle failed to stop, said police, and officers from the Kirkland Lake OPP and the Temiskaming OPP pursued the vehicle. The route the police chase took is not included in the OPP update, but from that intersection of Kirkland Lake to Portage Bay Road, the distance ranges from about 100 kilometres to 120 kilometres.
The shelter-in-place order was lifted around 1 a.m. and police say there is no ongoing concern for public safety.
As of 2 p.m. today, 511 is showing that Highway 11 remains closed to traffic in both directions from Portage Bay Road to Highway 11B. Because of the closure, people driving Highway 144 between Sudbury and Timmins are reporting higher traffic levels.
Anyone with information on the investigation, including videos or photos, is asked to contact the SIU's lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529 or online at siu.on.ca/en/appeals.php.
